My Side of Town

When I turned 8 years old I moved to the hills of  Hayward, Ca. The community I reside in was built new, all the homes are two stories and usually when people come to visit me they assume that I'm "rich" just because of the location that I live in. Everyday it never fails that you run across some deer, a mob of turkeys, or even horses trotting up the concrete hillside. You never see public transportation because the buses won't make the trip up the hill and there is almost always tons of silence.

I was often expected to be a stuck up spoiled person just because of where I lay my head every night. Although there are many wrong perceptions and assumptions attached to my neighborhood, there are also lots of things I took from living here. Nothing is given to you, and my mother worked hard for years just so that she could be able to buy our family a house like the one we live in. I appreciate things more then people would think because I know what it's like to live somewhere where you have no food, no internet, no phone, no car, and no real sense of safety. When I was pregnant I lived in Lodi, CA, a city in the middle of no where with nothing to offer me. I had no groceries or income and used to have to steal to feed me and my developing child. I was so far from my family and friends that I had no one to help me, the people around me were all doing drugs and I never felt safe. Moving from one bad place to another and still with child, I then moved to East Palo Alto, Ca. A city where a day never passes without hearing various sirens and witnessing several fights, killings, and drug deals. Although I was thankful my daughters grandma let me stay with her while I got back on my feet, I knew this city was not the place for me to stay. I finally moved back in with my parents in Hayward and have been there ever since.  Living in this suburban setting I'm not limited when it comes to diversity. There are not a lot of African American's in my neighborhood but I grew up around many different cultures. Even though we do not communicate, it's nice to see the faces of the people who live around me once in awhile when I'm checking the mail, driving by, or taking my daughter on walks.

Much good came from the area in which I reside, but there are also expectations that I know I will never meet. I tend to hear that I'm "White Washed", "Spoiled", or "Rich" just because of my address and anyone who knows me well can see that I am none of those things. I dress like an "urban chick" from Berkeley, Ca and I listen to music that most people would think I'd never hear of just because I live in a suburban area. I will admit that when I was younger I was an extremely rebellious child and part of that was because of who I felt I was despite of my neighborhood. I didn't have friends around me growing up that I could just walk to so instead I would constantly drive or get picked up to go hang out because I never wanted to be home. Everyone says they wished they lived in a house like mine, I always rolled my eyes and shook my head like, "no you don't". I am an extremely free spirited cultured individual despite of the cookie cutter manufactured neighborhood I live in.